Nevada Minimum Wage and Overtime Laws

Are your Nevada employment law posters due for an update? Starting July 1, 2021, there are new minimum wage and overtime pay provisions that you must share with your employees. Keeping your labor law posters up to date is the easiest way to do that.

Nevada’s Two-Tier Minimum Wage System

Nevada operates a two-tier minimum wage system: employers are required to pay a different minimum wage depending on whether they offer their employees qualifying health benefits. Under the current payment structure, employees who are not offered health benefits receive $1 more per hour.

Generally speaking, a qualifying health plan “covers those categories of health care expenses that are generally deductible by an employee on [their] individual federal income tax return.” To see more about whether a health plan qualifies for the lower minimum wage bracket, see Nevada Administrative Code § 608.102. Note that it doesn’t matter whether an employee accepts the offered health benefits; if those benefits are offered, the employer may pay the lower minimum wage.

The 2021 Increase in Nevada’s Minimum Wage

The Nevada minimum wage is increasing in 2021 as part of a tiered increase that is scheduled to continue through 2024. Starting on July 1, 2021, and continuing to June 30, 2022, the minimum wage will be:

• $8.75 per hour for employees who are offered qualifying health benefits and
• $9.75 per hour for employees who are not offered qualifying health benefits.

Nevada, unlike most states, does not provide a lower wage rate for tipped employees. It also does not generally allow subminimum wages for trainees, students, or apprentices.

Overtime Pay in Nevada

The overtime rate in Nevada will also increase to reflect the change in the minimum wage rate.

In addition to the distinction between employees who are offered qualifying health benefits and those who are not, Nevada uses a second criterion to determine when employees are eligible to receive overtime. For employees who earn more than 1.5 times the minimum wage—$13.125 per hour for employees who are offered qualifying health benefits and $14.625 per hour for employees who are not offered qualifying health benefits—overtime is only available when they work more than 40 hours per week.

Employees who do not earn more than 1.5 times the minimum wage must receive overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week or when they work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period.

All employees who are eligible for overtime will be paid one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for their overtime hours.

Keep Your Employees Informed—and Your Business in Compliance

Your Nevada employees rely on your labor law posters to understand their rights and responsibilities, and you’re legally required to keep those posters clearly visible and up to date. But keeping up with changes in the law requires ongoing diligence—unless you sign up for a 1-year Compliance Plan through the Poster Compliance Center! When you’re on the Compliance Plan, we’ll provide free poster updates any time there’s a mandatory change in the law, no matter how many times the law changes during the plan year. The Poster Compliance Center is the easiest way to “set it and forget it” for your labor law posters.